PlayStation 3 Motion Sensing At E3?

Variety's CutScene blog has spoken to several sources who have said that Sony will be revealing a motion sensing controller for the PlayStation 3 at E3 this year. Reportedly, the PlayStation 3 motion-sensor will use LED lights and a webcam to track movements. Because the camera reads the shape and angle of the lights, the PlayStation 3's motion sensors will be more accurate than the Wii.

Sony filed a patent for this tech in January of 2007, and it has apparently taken this long for the work to be finished and the controller ready for public consumption. Sony is apparently reaching out to developers and publishers to get some early software coming, and the thing will hit shelves reportedly later this year or early next year.

But the question is: Will it make a difference? Are consumers really going to plonk down the 400 bucks it costs for a PlayStation 3 because it has a super-accurate motion-sensing controller? Or is this a case of some executives at Sony looking at the success of the Wii and saying, "Make it like that!" without really understanding the reasons for the Wii's success.

My question is: If this rumor turns out to be true, is it destined to be more like the EyeToy, and interesting little add-on useful for a few titles but not integral to the system, or is this an attempt to really change the basic controls of the PlayStation 3. My guess is it's the former. If it turns out to be the latter,, I think it represents a little bit of an identify crisis on the part of the PlayStation 3. A console can't be all things to all people, and you usually don't fire up your PlayStation 3 to jump around the room like you're playing a Wii or Dance Dance Revolution... and besides, didn't the PlayStation 3 launch with a kind of motion-sensing controller that you used to fly your dragon in Lair? I don't think too many people are clamoring for more motion-sensing.

Hey, but maybe I'm wrong (hard to believe, but it's happened before) and the motion sensing PlayStation 3 controller will be the most awesome thing ever. What do you think? Do you think the PlayStation 3 will benefit from motion-sensing controls? Which games?